The present invention relates to an elongated conveyor assembly which includes a pivotal hinge assembly structurally arranged on the conveyor assembly to fold-over a portion of the conveyor assembly in a vertical plane relative to the plane of the non-folded conveyor assembly.
At the present time, elongated portable conveyor assemblies must be folded to a collapsed position to permit movement of the conveyor assembly from one job location to another. Such folding operations may include the use of a crane which supports the elongated conveyor assembly in the operative position wherein the conveyor assembly extends from a lower loading point to an elevated discharge point. When it is desired to move the conveyor assembly from one work location to another, the supporting crane must lower the elongated conveyor assembly onto the ground to permit the conveyor assembly to be folded by selectively decoupling predetermined lengths of the conveyor assembly from the remaining lengths of the conveyor to permit either vertical stacked folding or horizontal sideways folding. The resultant folded conveyor assembly may provide an accordion-type folded conveyor assembly wherein predetermined lengths of the conveyor are folded in a horizontal plane or provide a fold-over condition wherein the conveyor lengths are stacked in vertical plane with respect to the body of the conveyor assembly. However, such stacked conveyor assemblies are time consuming and expensive.
Also, if it is desired to fold the conveyor assembly in a vertical plane with respect to the body of the conveyor assembly, some prior art structures require multiple sets of hydraulic cylinders and complex folding mechanisms to lower the conveyor assembly to the ground and then fold the conveyor assembly at multiple positions along the length of the conveyor assembly. Again, such prior art structures are extremely complex and expensive and, therefore, have found limited acceptance in the marketplace.
An additional foldable framework for a belt conveyor is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,333,725. In this patent, a foldable framework is connected to a single power operated cylinder which is operative to cause a portion of the movable support frame of the conveyor assembly to pivot about a universal joint and to position a portion of the conveyor assembly substantially in a vertical perpendicular plane with respect to the body of the non-folded portion of the conveyor assembly. In such a position, the conveyor assembly may then be stacked or stored around other equipment for transport between work sites. However, such a foldable structure does not provide a system or structure which folds a conveyor assembly in a vertical plane with respect to the body of the conveyor assembly for movement of the folded conveyor assembly between work sites.